Kyūketsuki
by wolfYLady-sama
Summary: New adventure awaits our miko.


**_Kyūketsuki_**

**_Disclaimer: As this is a work of fanfiction I hold no claim to the characters that belong to their beloved and recognized creators. I am nothing more than a humble fanfiction writer whose entertainment comes from manipulating fictional characters._**

**_Summary: New adventure awaits our miko._**

**_~~_**

The sensation of falling, pulled Kagome backwards. Arms stretch out towards her comrades, who in turn reached out, even Inuyasha who had just saved her from the Shikon's darkness had been too slow to return her to his side. It was as if time had slowed, their voices calling out her name in a slow panicked fashion.

Tears sprung to her eyes as she cried back.

"**_No_**!" Animalistic and broken as the sound ripped from her throat. She knew her time with them was fleeting, but how could fate rob her of a simple goodbye. It wasn't fair! How could they toy with her heart like this?!

Darkness stole her from them, before soft swirls of indigo and azure swallowed her. The sensation of falling left her, and she simply floated.

She sobbed openly, screams echoing in the silence.

It wasn't fair!

How could fate be so cruel to her!? They gifted her adventure and purpose, and it was all being stolen away because she had done her duty. How did they expect her to _live_ after all she had experienced? How was she to go back to being a **_normal_** girl? And how was she to cope in a world without her comrades, her friends?

Another scream ripped through her chest, reverberating through the time stream, disrupting the swirling colors, the sheer anguish she exuded made the well break.

The very _thing_ that had allowed the gods to manipulate it's power, broke for the girl that the well had come to care for.

It could not take her back, it had already gone too far to go back, and the gods would seal the well once the girl was once again in her proper time, but it **_could_** take her to another place, where evil still lurked and the little time-traveler might find a new beginning.

The colors that had been a luminescent blue, flickered to purple before swirls of aqua overtook the time steam.

Some of her friends may no longer exist but she wouldn't be alone. That is if she wanted.

"**_Do you still wish for adventure?_**" The well asked in a soft voice. They spoke with a tone that was neither male, nor female, with a whimsical edge and equally deep baritone.

"Who's there?!" Kagome called out, eyes wide as she spun herself around. Was it the Jewel? **_Couldn't be!_** She wished it away… **_Didn't she?_**

They spoke again, their voice echoing through the vase space around her, yet she could not see anyone no matter which direction she looked. It was as if they were surrounding her. "**_You already know me, child, I am the one who has been with you throughout your journey, it is with my magic that we have yet to reach your future_**,"

She blinked.

"**_You may know me best as _****_Honekui no Ido_**," it explained gentle.

Her hand flew to cover her mouth, a gasp escaping through her fingers. "You're alive?" It wasn't possible, was it?

There was a chuckle that vibrated through the air."**_Not in the same sense as yourself. Give me a moment this should make talking between us easier on you_**," A mass of light formed before Kagome, twisting and expanding till it was able to take on a more humanoid appearance. Black and periwinkle hair sprouted from the top of their hair falling to narrow shoulders and to hang above pupil-less topaz eyes. They looked beautiful, with gentle, rounded features and a slim physique dressed in a simple white kimono. Just like their voice Kagome couldn't pin a gender to this being not that she thought a well could have a gender."**_I am a constant in this world, always existing in a state of being, allowing me to know what has and will happen- that is if everything goes according to plan_**,"

"I don't understand," her hand went to her forehead, feeling a migraine beginning to form there. "If you could speak to me, why do it now?" Anger entered her voice, a finger pointed at the being across from her.

"**_I have witnessed this world a thousand times over, watched it fall and rise again. It was by my will that you were first brought into the past, in hope that by introducing you to that time you would defeat Naraku; so that he would never reach your modern day- to wreak havoc on such a prosperous time that is not eupt to handle his tyranny_**,"

"Are you saying that if I hadn't destroyed the jewel in the past, he _and it_ would have destroyed the future," her eyes widening.

"**_Indeed_**," they nodded with a soft upturn of their lips to show a smile.

"Then what's going on now?" Honekui, as Kagome had now dubbed the being, sighed angrily.

"**_Because of what I did to you, it had been my intention to let you choose where you wanted to be, but the gods did not like that choice and will seal me shut once we make it to your time_**,"

"No they can't do that!" Kagome urged panickedly.

"**_I agree, it's why I have stopped time to speak with you about what you wish to do next. It is too late for me to turn back, my power only flows in one direction at a time, but there is a time before your own where you may still find a purpose_**,"

"Will I ever see them again?"

They shook their head. "**_I'm sorry, no, I may have some power but not enough to rival that of the gods. The most I can do is take you to another time period, but the next time you decide to jump into me you'll be returned to your birth time, and I will be sealed forever_**,"

She worried her lip before looking up into Honekui 's eyes. "Can you at least tell me about the time before "_dropping me off_" like last time?"

Honekui laughed gently with a shake of their head before looking a the young miko gently. "**_A different type of demon has ascended upon Japan, the _****Kyūketsuki**. **_While other demons have gone into hiding, the_** **_Kyūketsuki_** **_have gorged themselves on humans throughout the country, the demon slayers of this time are grossly outmatched, outnumbered and simply uneducated on what they are fighting. And without the aid of trained monks and mikos such as yourself, the leader of the Kyūketsuki may take hold not only over Japan but the world_**,"

"Kyūketsuki? Like _vampires_?" Kagome questioned.

Honekui nodded. "**_With the terror they cause, other demons have slowly integrated into human society, hiding so that they may live without being pursued by the demon slayers. Although not as knowledgeable like your friend Sango, the slayers are strong but few in number. There is an evil that lurks in that time, growing to a level far surpass the deeds done by Naraku_**,"

Blue eyes widened. She never thought there could be someone **_worse_** than Naraku.

"**_People are dying, horribly, and slayers are dying before their time leaving humans near defenseless. I believe you have the power to assist in destroying such evil_**,"

Kagome thought quietly, her hand cupped her chin in a thoughtful manner.

She wanted to help, but could she- a half trained miko- really make a difference against an evil force that could very well rival the likes of Naraku?

Honekui seemed to have faith in her, they had faith in her since the beginning. Though from her point of view it was more that Honekui was going off of speculation that if the timeline was disrupted the outcome would be different- and who's to say that things could have gone much worse! Same could be said of this situation as well!

Kagome rubbed her temples, trying to work through the ache that had taken place there. Time-travel was so complicated!

"How do you _know_ that I am capable of making any difference?" Kagome asked softly, looking down at her hands, and the blood and dirt still clinging to them. She had barely survived the final battle, how could she; weak little Kagome, possibly help?

Honekui cocked their head to the side. "**_I don't, not yet anyways. Time is much like a river, it bends and breaks, branching off into smaller rivers and streams. Each diverging path can be traced back to a single point in which a decision must be made. This world is full of infinite possibilities, and the decisions made can have astronomical effects. I have already witnessed the possible outcomes of whichever you decide, but the future will forever remain a hypothetical thing until you decide,_** "

Kagome sighed heavily. "And I _doubt_ there's a chance you'd be _willing_ to share those possible outcomes with me,"

Honekui nodded with a smile. "**_No, but I will say I wouldn't have stopped time to speak with you if I didn't have faith in you_**,"

Sighing, again, Kagome looked up at nothing in particular. "Can I think about it?"

"**_Of course, time has been stopped around us for quite some time now, take as long as you need,_**" Honekui smiled, almost knowingly, or perhaps as they had explained, no matter what she decided they already knew the outcome.

Closing her eyes, Kagome took a deep breath.

In the last several minutes her life had done a complete one-eighth, only to come to a screeching halt despite her emotional and battle worn state. There were two choices before her now. The first was to venture to another time, where an evil on the same level of Naraku was laying waste to the human race. The second was to return to her family in the future, to live as a normal fifteen year old girl and act as if her adventures never happened. But at least with the first she could still return to her family if she decided the slayers didn't need her.

She groaned aloud before looking to her hands with misty sapphire eyes.

Shouldn't this be a harder decision to make?

Despite the two choices, one thing was the same no matter which she picked, she would never be able to return to the feudal era.

Kagome let out a gentle sob, her shoulders shaking as she slowly crumbled, tear once again flooding her eyes. "I just want to say goodbye," she croaked.

Sure, it was entirely possible that she could see her youkai friends; their lives being able to span hundreds of years, but not Sango and Miroku. And even if her youkai friends had the ability to live hundreds of years didn't mean they did.

"**_The others live_**,"

Kagome's head shot up to look at Honekui's gentle features.

"**_As for the monk and slayer, they lived happily together until their bodies succumbed to old age. They loved full heartedly and were loved in turn by their children that lived on after them,_**"

She blinked before a smile bloomed across her face. She laughed as she cried, hugging herself, despite the pain of losing them she was happy that they could have their happily ever after.

**~~**

**wolfYLady: _There you have it. I just fell in love with Demon Slayer Corp. and well those demons while AMAZING just seem more like vampires to be hence _**Kyūk**_etsuki_** which translate as bloodsucker / vampire.

**_So far this is just an idea I am playing with._**


End file.
